A Mother’s Gift

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There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens: a time to be born and a time to die.
- Ecclesiastes 3:1-2 (NIV)

My mother died on Mother’s Day — the day she and I usually celebrated by remembering when she gave birth to me and heard my first breath. But on that Mother’s Day I was telling my mother how much I loved her as she drew her last breath. I kept...

Today's Prayer

Dear God, thank you for the lessons we have learned from those whose faith is unwavering. Amen.

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Ecclesiastes 3:1-8

1 There’s a season for everything and a time for every matter under the heavens:2 a time for giving birth and a time for dying, a time for planting and a time for uprooting what was planted,3 a time for killing and a time for healing, a time for tearing down and a time for building up,4 a time for crying and a time for laughing, a time for mourning and a time for dancing,5 a time for throwing stones and a time for gathering stones, a time for embracing and a time for avoiding embraces,6 a time for searching and a time for losing, a time for keeping and a time for throwing away,7 a time for tearing and a time for repairing, a time for keeping silent and a time for speaking,8 a time for loving and a time for hating, a time for war and a time for peace.

The Holy Service of Motherhood

"When I became a parent, I struggled to find God within the chaotic world where I now lived. I was used to contemplative prayer, to silence and service and listening for God’s still, small voice in quiet, hidden spaces. Suddenly none of my life felt quiet or hidden – it was all loud, messy, and exposed." Discover more.

—Lauren Burdette

Author of This Life That Is Ours: Motherhood As Spiritual Practice (Upper Room Books, 2019).